Voices in his Head
by verfens
Summary: Alfred is a good Samaritan, picking a homeless man up off the streets. Unfortunately, his act of kindness results in a heavy burden- his new friend has a terrible case of schizophrenia. USUK.
1. Chapter 1

Voices in his Head

"You're all...out to get me." He murmured, doing the thing with his hand that looked like he was playing little bunny foo foo, but was, unfortunately, freaking out about something. "Even you!" He was crying, and Alfred knew better than to touch him right now.

He bent down so that he could see him eye to eye, since he was in a chair, his favorite, since it was cushy and warm and you felt like you were getting a hug.

"Well, I don't agree." He said, placating him. "I'm certainly not out to get you." He smiled comfortingly at him.

He was pulling at his hair now, breathing hard. "They say so." He muttered.

"The voices?" And he nodded jerkily. "You don't have to listen to them, remember?" He reminded gently, being patient with him. "Everyone has the right to see things their own way."

Arthur nodded, looking wildly around him, seeing things only he could. "I'm going to get your medicine." Alfred told him, smiling. "It'll help, okay?"

"Mum...was out to get me...made me go..." He was muttering to himself now, and Alfred felt bad for the young man. He couldn't help himself.

He came back a few minutes later with his ambilify. "Here you are." Alfred smiled for him. He held out the pill for Arthur to take, and Arthur obediently took it, used to the action. He then drank from the water glass Alfred held up to his lips.

He had found Arthur roughly a week before, and now understood that his altruistic actions meant he had now a rather large burden on his shoulders. One so great, Arthur had been kicked out from his own family. At least, that was what Alfred could piece together from his disturbed mumblings. But unlike them, Alfred welcomed the man into his home, determined to get him back on track with his life. It was something he did, yanno? He was living comfortably, and wanted to help out those who weren't. He often took in families whose homes had foreclosed. He was a very successful consultant, and had more than enough money to help out those who didn't have enough.

Arthur was not the kind of person he usually took in, however. He was a very unique man, representing about 1% of the US population.

He remembered that night, and probably would for a long while.

_Alfred was waiting for his carpool to show up with an umbrella over his head, trying to reduce his environmental footprint, and that was when he spotted him. _

_There was a man leaning against the wall by where he was waiting, mumbling to himself. He was handsome, in a different sort of manner. Unkempt, however. Shadows danced in his green eyes, and he looked utterly defeated. He was dressed in what looked to have once been nice clothes, but were now rags soaked with rainwater. He was missing one shoe. _

_Alfred decided it was okay to get wet, extending his umbrella to cover the man without getting too close. "Hello." He said, friendly. "You look like you could use this." _

_The man didn't respond to him, only continuing with his paranoid muttering. That was when Alfred guessed what was up with him. He was probably suffering from a mental illness. He got closer, covering him with the umbrella fully now. _

_The man looked up with dull eyes, ceasing his muttering. He watched Alfred apathetically. His face was flat as he spoke. "What." He said, in a monotone. _

_Alfred smiled a little wider. "Hey." He was still very friendly, gentle with this man. "Do you need me to call someone for you?" He asked. _

_The man almost nodded, before abruptly, and violently, shaking his head. "No, no no no. Gone. Arthur not welcome." He muttered, looking down again. _

_"Is your name Arthur?" He tried to draw the man's attention back to him, and Arthur jerked his hand. _

_"Yes..." He mumbled, looking back up with him. _

_"Arthur, you're welcome with me." He said, and Arthur looked down again. _

_"Really? No one wants me." He was paranoid now. "No one ever wants me. Everyone's out to get me." Arthur jerked more with his arms._

_"Shhhh..." Alfred said, smiling. "I'm not. That counts for something, right?" And Arthur nodded after a minute. He reached out for Alfred, and Alfred was calm as Arthur grabbed him. _

_"I don't...like rain." He pondered, and Alfred felt sympathetic. He wanted out of the rain, but didn't have the ability to do something about it. _

_"How about you come with me." He offered, taking Arthur's hand and drawing him closer. Arthur agreed, thanking him after a few minutes of walking under the umbrella._

_He'd call his ride later, he was walking with this one. He didn't want to ruin his friends interior. _

And a week filled with doctors appointments, research, found person signs, and trying to find out more about Arthur later, and Alfred now knew that his new friend had a terrible case of schizophrenia. Doctors guessed that his family dumped him once the costs got too high for them to live with him. So now he was just alone, save for Alfred.

At least Arthur seemed to (mostly) like him.

Alfred was tucking Arthur into bed, having had some difficulty getting him there, Arthur weakly protesting this. But now he was in bed, sleeping peacefully. He was rather cute, now cleaned up and no longer making disturbed noises. Alfred propped his head up on a pillow, and then left him, closing the door behind him.

He sighed, relieved that Arthur was in bed and comfortable.

Alfred smiled softly, and then plopped into his own bed. He groaned. "God." He murmured, curling up. "What did I get myself into?"

He closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

XXXXX

When he met Arthur, he was in a flat phase. Now he wasn't nearly as calm. He was in his more positive symptoms. That was problematic, since Arthur, who didn't know Alfred very well, lashed out at him a lot. He went to work with a black eye one day, calling his friend to just watch Arthur through his baby cam.

That worked until Arthur broke it.

He was a hassle, unfortunately. Alfred was feeding him when he started to think Alfred was giving him poison, and threw it all up.

Alfred was nearly at his wits end then, cleaning up after Arthur once he had given him his pill, when he finally got some interesting information from Arthur.

"You're really...not like them..." He murmured, eyes dull, but interested.

Alfred smiled at him, trying to remain calm with him. "Yeah, you could say that. Who's they?" Arthur looked away.

"My...family." He whispered. "They kicked me out after I hurt Peter...I hurt you...you didn't make me go..."

Alfred got up, and looked empathetic. "I know you can't help yourself." He said, ruffling Arthur's hair. "Are you finally coming down from your high?" He asked, smiling softly.

"I think I am...they never really consistently medicated me..." Alfred hurt for the man. Arthur fiddled with his hands.

"Well, that's going to change. You're on a strict medication plan, and now that you're not freaking out on me all the time, we can arrange for a therapist to help you."

Arthur looked nervous then. "What if he's out to get me?"

Alfred prayed for The Lord to give him patience. He needed every bit of it he could get. "Well, he's only there to help you." He reminded gently. "And if you don't like him, we can go to another one." Arthur seemed soothed by that, and Alfred grinned. "Hey, how about we turn on some TV!"

Arthur looked really freaked out then. "B-But...they'll be broadcasting my thoughts if I do that."

God help him.

4


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I just want to say, as someone who deals with mental illness on an everyday basis, that Arthur won't just "get better". He'll have his highs and his lows, and medication definitely helps! So does therapy, support, etc, but don't overestimate how much friends can help. It takes a medical professional to best deal with your mental health.

But, Alfred is getting Arthur the help he needs. Don't underestimate the role of the physician, is all I'm saying.

If you're curious about mental illness, and how to care for those with psychosis, I suggest you find resources on it online! There's great stuff out there!

XXXXX

Arthur was better this week. He was withdrawn, sure, but he wasn't freaking out all the time. Alfred could even have a decent conversation with the man! It was such a transformation from the past week that Alfred decided to celebrate by getting the man his favorite meal.

Arthur stared blankly at him when he asked. Alfred smiled, repeating himself. "I want you to tell me what to get for you." He was going slow and purposeful with his speech, but not making it any dumber for Arthur. He was a smart man; Alfred could see that by how he read Alfred's business books with ease.

"Alright…." He muttered, looking thoughtful, yet suspicious. "I might want some fish and chips, then." His poisonous green eyes watched, calculating. "Might."

Alfred nodded. He pat Arthur's head, and the man grumbled in annoyance. "I'll call up a place." He said, and took out his cell phone as he walked into the other room. He quickly ordered his favorite burger from a nice joint, and then got Arthur his fish and chips. Once he ordered, he gave them the credit card number and information to ensure that there would hardly be any time at the door with someone Arthur didn't know.

When Alfred walked back into the room, Arthur was watching him carefully. "You're very different from them…." He muttered to himself, eyes softening. Light had seemed to come back into them, along with reason. The man closed his eyes, and then groaned. "Shit." He said flatly.

Alfred looked surprised. He hadn't expected Arthur to become aware of the situation so….suddenly. "Well, I guess after two weeks of knowing each other, it's a good time to introduce myself…"

"Alfred." Arthur said irritably, cutting him off. "I'm not stupid. I just…need to be filled in a little on what happened."

Alfred was a little sheepish at that. "Okay then." He grinned. "Well, around 2 weeks ago, I found you in the rain. You were mumbling about something, and I figured I should help out." He then explained the rest of the story on how they had been living.

The man was confused, by the end of it. "Why did you help me?" He murmured. "I've been hindering your everyday life."

He grinned at that. "Because, helping people is what I do." He pat Arthur's shoulder as the door rung. "That'd be the food."

"I ordered….fish and chips, right?" He asked, and Alfred nodded approvingly.

"Yeppers! Exactly right." Alfred got their food from the guy, signed the paper, and both of them were on their way. Alfred gave the box labeled F&C to Arthur. The man gingerly took it out of Alfred's hands, still in disbelief. He watched him with confusion.

"Alfred, I honestly think you're too kind." He murmured, shaking his head. Alfred only laughed.

XXXXX

Alfred was working when Arthur came into his office. "I think it's time for my meds…" He murmured, looking awkward. Alfred nodded, getting up.

"I've been looking up ways to help you!" He said, brightly. "I'm working on that right now. I found a few helpful websites that might help you establish some techniques to keep you grounded!"

Arthur sighed, shaking his head. "Alfred…" He grumbled, irritably. "Just give me the mediation."

Alfred chuckled, but left the room to go get the pill bottle in his medicine cabinet. He kept it locked in case Arthur tried to do something stupid to himself. He also kept his razors and knives in there. He didn't want Arthur harming himself. Not until he knew Arthur wasn't into that.

The man was tapping his foot on the hardwood flooring of Alfred's office, when Alfred came back in with a glass of water and his pill. He smiled genially. "Go ahead." He urged when Arthur hesitated. The other blonde swallowed with a bit of difficulty, coughing. Difficulty swallowing was a side effect of the Ambilify, as was muscle stiffness.

Arthur sighed once it was done. "I do believe it's working well enough, the side effects are mild yet annoying."

Alfred nodded. "If you want to talk to your doctor about that, we can. I don't mind you trying a different medication."

Arthur hesitated for a moment. "I looked up a little bit of what you're giving me….my parents…" He hesitated again. "…Gave me tranquilizers. You don't, however. Why?"

Alfred shrugged. "I figured it would suck to be drugged up all the time." He said, kindly. "Plus, they're pretty addictive. I found that out when you had a bad withdrawal two weeks ago." Arthur muttered something that Alfred couldn't quite make out, but figured it was a curse.

"I must be running up so many medical bills for you…" Arthur murmured, worrying. Alfred laughed lightheartedly.

"Yeah, but I'm a single guy in a very comfortable job." He waved a hand lightly. "Don't worry about that. I gotcha covered."

Arthur's eyebrows went up at single. "You?" He asked, confused.

Alfred sat back down, ignoring the question as he waved his hand again. "Now- about those techniques." Arthur groaned, and Alfred laughed again. "You have to start figuring out how to deal with this, Art."

"It's Arthur." He snapped, but there was no bite to it. Alfred chuckled, and Arthur rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest as he huffed.

"C'mon." He gestured for Arthur to come over.

XXXXX

Half an hour later, and Arthur had apparently done more research on self-help for schizophrenia in that time than he had done over the past 3 years, he told Alfred in a soft voice.

"How old are you?" Alfred asked as they were walking through Michael's to pick up their craft supplies.

"26." Arthur said snippily.

Alfred laughed. "How old do you think I am?" He asked, jokingly.

Arthur glared. "Well, I know you have a good job, so you're probably…25?" He guessed, and Alfred howled with laughter.

"You flatter me." He wiped away a mirthful tear. "I'm actually 33." Arthur's eyebrows shot up.

"No way." He said tonelessly. "You look 19." Alfred snickered. "And you act like it too." He harrumphed.

"Yeah, I'm told that a lot." Alfred put his hands behind his head. "Well, I'm really an old man."

Arthur sighed. "Well, 8 years older than me…that's not that old." He tried to joke, but fell flat. His facial tone still was too flat, it made him look pissed off.

Alfred knew what he was going for, and went along with it. "Yeah!" He laughed. "Not too bad! I could have been what, 43 and married with 3 kids?"

Arthur looked strained at the mention of children. "Children are the bane of my existence." He grumbled. "Particularly one I hope I never see again."

"So, by the sound of it, you got your….issues after college?" He said, trying to change the subject and find out a little more.

"Yes." He nodded, looking a little sad. "I went from valedictorian….to someone unable to care for themselves."

"You were valedictorian?" He grinned. "So was I!" He pat Arthur's back, and he made a little oomph sound, before folding his arms and glaring at the floor.

Alfred got them so far as the quilting supplies before Arthur was drifting his attention to craft supplies. Alfred laughed, but let Arthur get the stuff he wanted. He was probably bored in the house with Alfred working more now. He got him cross-stitching stuff, quilting materials, knitting needles and yarn, plus a lot more. By the time their basket was full, Arthur was looking very pleased with himself. Alfred pat his back. "Craftsy are you?" He joked.

Arthur nodded, not even minding the crack at him. He was grinning broadly. "Now, for that journal…" They picked one out that Arthur was happy enough with, as it had a Union Jack on it, and then another with a picture of a global map on the cover, and Alfred checked out with him. They went home, and on the way, Arthur was given instructions on how to use the mood journal, as described in the website.

"Now, when you feel an intense emotion, what I want you to do is to write down what it was, when it occurred, and what was going on when you felt it." Alfred instructed. "You don't have to do it right away, but the site suggest you do it right before bed. As for the dream/hallucination journal, that's so you can keep track of your hallucination/delusions, for the doctor." He smiled at him. "Then, we can best figure out how to help you through them."

"Alright." Arthur conceded. "These might be useful."

Alfred only smiled.

XXXXX

A/N: Awesome! Got that done! I'm really into this story, I hope you've liked it so far! If you did, I'd love to hear from you!


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